James grew up in Dixon, CA but moved to Chico, CA with his father.[1] By 13, James was performing at local talent shows and making his own demos on equipment he purchased himself. He began submitting the demos to labels and producers in the Bay Area and Los Angeles when he was 16.[2]
Career
Early career
During high school, James was discovered by Johnny Zunino of N2Deep. After his two previous groups disbanded, James and Zunino started Scapegoat Wax.[3] The band originally signed to Good Vibe Recordings in 1999 for their first album, Luxurious. In 2000 they moved to the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal Label, and James worked with Mike D on the band's second album, Okeeblow.[2] When Grand Royal closed, the band went to Hollywood Records and released SWAX in 2002. The band gained critical acclaim with the media, but failed to establish commercial success.[3] The band was best known for their single "Aisle 10 (Hello Allison)", which reached moderate success in the US and was part of the Xbox video game Jet Set Radio Future[4] as well as being on the soundtrack for Project Gotham Racing. They also released other singles which were used in motion picture soundtracks and television shows, such as Clockstoppers, America's Sweethearts and 40 Days and 40 Nights, the episode "Company Picnic: Part 2" of Malcolm in the Middle and the unaired pilot of Wonderfalls.[3]
In 2004, James started One Block Radius with Mr. Dope America, who toured with Scapegoat Wax, and San Francisco emcee Z Man.[5] They signed to Los Angeles independent label Avatar Records in 2005 and released the album Long Story Short, which James wrote, produced, and mixed.[5] During that time, James was also featured as a guest vocalist on songs by Snoop Dogg, Baby Bash, Paul Wall, The Federation, E-40, and others.[3]
2010-present
Since 2010, James has focused on songwriting and producing music for others. He has written songs with and for Jason Derulo, Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, Snoop Dogg, Christina Aguilera, Timbaland, Afrojack, Nelly, Akon, Wiz Khalifa, Sean Kingston, Ty Dolla $ign, Nicky Jam, Will Smith, and G-Eazy.[2] In 2016, James co-wrote "Don't You Need Somebody" for RedOne. The same year, Luis Fonsi and Erika Ender brought James on to help with remixing their Spanish-language song "Despacito," featuring Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee.[6][7] James, whose mother's family is of Mexican heritage,[6] has written songs for Latin artists. The English language remix that James worked on was intended to expand the appeal of the original song which had already been a success. Justin Bieber was brought on to sing on the remix.[7]